Chapter 4: Mom's Daughter
"How dare he threaten you! Stupid cowardly boy!And you should have punched him in the gut",Payal's mother,Geeta Mahale, cursed on the phone.
Payal winced at that, chuckling nervously. She had returned from the canteen and had found Rashi asleep with an unlocked door.She had made a mental note to talk to her about it later and had called her mother. Payal had right away told Geeta everything that happened in the canteen that day, because the third rule in "How to fight against ragging ?" was to come clean to one's parents.She knew because she had googled everything about it the moment her college was decided.
"Yes, amma, next time I'll show him who's daughter I'm .Anyway, I don't know who this president is. But something tells me I should probably take this Siddharth guy seriously and watch my back",Payal said to her mom,thoughtfully.
Geeta hummed and continued,"yes ,Payu. Always be careful of people around you . Whether it's now or in the future. Never let anyone hurt you, physically and emotionally. Stay strong and remember that your appa and I are always here for you. Tell us if anything is wrong . We worry about you all the time",Geeta said in a small voice. Payal could literally imaging her mother making a pouty face . Payal smiled adoringly ,staring at her nails and replied,"Amma, please don't worry yourself. I will surely tell you if there's anything important. I'll not let you down ,amma."
Geeta sighed on the other side and said,"Are you getting along with your roommate ,Payu? Is she decent ? She is hygienic, right? "
Payal let out a laugh,"Yes, amma. Rashi is very nice. And she is decent and hygienic, too. I can say she is a very quiet girl , likes keeping to herself. She is a very good roommate."
Geeta paused for a little,"Tomorrow is your first day ,you should look decent . Wear that pink kurta with polka dots and yellow leggings. The look really suits you."
Payal smiled and said," okay ,amma,I'll wear that. But should I wear the matching jhumkas with them ? Or, will they look too much?"
Geeta replied,assuringly,"No ,Payu. They'll look beautiful on you . "
They continued to talk for another half an hour. When it was eight in the evening, Geeta finally hung up saying it was time for Payal to go to hostel mess for dinner.
Payal woke Rashi up .The dinner time was till 9 so they had enough time to freshen up . When both Payal and Rashi were done ,they locked there dorm room and made their way to the mess. Payal was in an over-sized T-shirt and sweatpants whereas Rashi had worn kurta and leggings . As they walked towards the mess,they saw a group of girls walking behind them in the hallway. They were talking in hushed voices and were giggling repeatedly .They sounded like they were gossiping. Payal was never a fan of gossips. Even when in highschool, Payal never associated with girls who gossiped all the time. Rashi ,too, didn't seem to give a damn about it .Soon they entered straight into the mess and their eyes immediately fell on a long que . Students standing in the que were holding steel plates that were arranged on the chairs by the door. Payal looked at Rashi to find her already looking a her. She then gestured Rashi towards the plates. Both of them picked one each and stood in the line. Both girls and boys were standing in the same line , causing Payal's nose to scrunch in discomfort.
Payal looked at Rashi to make small talks ,but was cut of by a boy,"Did it hurt?"
Both Payal and Rashi snapped their eyes in the direction of the voice and saw a boy in a captain America T-shirt and sweats looking at Rashi with a smug smile on his face.He looked their age and was half a foot taller than Payal . He had a fair skin and his unkempt hair was all over the place.
He continued to look at Rashi, as she questioned him,with raised eyebrows,"Excuse me?What did you say?"
The boy smiled again and said,"Did it hurt?When you fell from heaven?"
Payal snorted and cupped her mouth ,struggling not to laugh, as Rashi raised her eyebrows at the him and snapped with attitude,"Actually, I climbed up from hell. So ,no."
Payal was surprised . Rashi gave him a mean look and turned around. Payal followed suit and whispered in her ear,"Such a badass,Rashi. He looked like he was slapped in the face". Rashi giggled and looked ahead again.
Soon their turn came . The dinner consisted of a couple of chapatis, mattar ki subzi, curd , rice and daal. By the time they had found empty seats to sit in, it was already half past eight.
The mess was quite filled .They sat at an empty table which had 10 chairs and were about to eat ,when the boy from earlier sat across them. He placed his plate on the table and smiled at them. Payal smiled a little but Rashi rolled her eyes and began eating.
The boy noticed Rashi's indifference and looked at Payal before saying,"Um..Hey...I'm Naveen."
Payal nodded at him and replied,"I'm Payal". She looked at Rashi ,who was busy eating and continued," and this is my roommate , Rashi".
Naveen waved at Rashi ,who was now glaring at him and muttered a small Hey .Rashi replied with a hello .Then the silence was awkward. All the three of them kept glancing at each other while they finished eating chapatis. It was so uncomfortable ,Payal felt as if the loud noise in the mess was silenced out by their awkwardness. She decided to cut the tension and said ,"the food here is good, right?" Payal received two nods. The reaction wasn't that bad. But the question was.
Payal tried again and asked Naveen,"Are you a fresher too?"
Naveen gave her a bright smile and said,"Yes . I'm from Vidharba .English honors. What about about you guys?" He went on looking at Payal and Rashi.
Payal said,"I'm from Davangere ,Karnataka .English honors."
"And I'm from Jaipur. Hindi", Rashi replied ,sounding a bit less indifferent.
Naveen cleared his throat and said looking at Rashi,"Please don't mind what I said earlier. I was just ...umm.."he trailed off and looked down trying to hide his red cheeks .
Rashi squinted her eyes at him and nodded,"Hmm. It's alright".
Naveen smiled gratefully and turned to ask Payal," We both are pursuing English honors . We may get the same class. What are your optional subjects?"
"History and psychology. What are yours?"Payal asked and ate the last spoon of her rice.
Naveen looked surprised and exclaimed ,chuckling,"Same as yours. We are surely getting into the same class." He had a big smile on his face as he too finished his food and all the three of them headed towards the sink . Naveen was walking ahead of them, when Rashi suddenly elbowed Payal in her side and whisper-yelled, her eyes glaring at Payal,"You shouldn't have talked to him nicely. Didn't you see how he was flirting earlier? And that too with that stupid, cheesy pickup line . Shameless!".
Payal raised her eyebrows at Rashi. The way Rashi said it,full of disgust, Payal was sure there might be story behind her reacting that way. She ignored her and quickly washed her hands ,as Rashi did the same. They exited the mess and found Naveen standing by the door.
Rashi grimaced."oh god!" Naveen's face brightened when he saw them approach.
He smiled at Payal and said,"It was nice to meet you. I hope I'll see you both again."
He then turned to Rashi,"Um..Rashi, I'm really sorry ."She just nodded without looking at him. Naveen cleared his throat and was about to say something when a boy threw his arm over Naveen's shoulder.
"Hey, dude. I heard the news about you from your roommates , man. Just came to confirm it from you",the same boy snickered ,while Naveen paled and immediately removed the boys arm from his shoulder.
Payal recognised the guy. He was one of the guys who were ragging her.
What was his name? Ah..Sagar. That was it.
Naveen quickly muttered a goodnight to Payal and literally ran away to the other side of the building.
Sagar smirked looking at his retreating figure and then walked slowly towards Payal with his hands in his pant pockets, looking almost dramatic."Payal....We meet again"
Payal gulped, but smiled sweetly .Her hand gripped Rashi's tightly. "Yes. Sagar,right?"
Judging by the smirk on his face he looked impressed with her. "Even after the warning you managed to find trouble again?"
Payal was confused ."What are you talking about? I didn't cross paths with the President yet."
Sagar chuckled and sighed."You still haven't realised it ,have you?"
"Realised what?"
"That the president he was talking about is himself. And we are with him. So , watch out, baby."
With that he winked at Payal and taking a quick glance towards Rashi, he was gone.
What the hell did he just call her? Okay, that wasn't the point.
Payal gulped and grasped the new information.
Of course She hadn't realized. Because she was busy being smug about her one heck of a stupid comeback. So Siddharth wasn't warning her. He was threatening her. He wouldn't be able to do shit about it. She was surely going to give him the taste of her mother's punch if he troubled her next time.
"Payal".Her thoughts were interrupted by Rashi.
"Payal, are you going to tell me what that was about? He looks older and quite the dangerous type .And who's this President? "
Payal nodded at her roommate. They were still standing in front of the mess, were other girls and boys were chatting away with each other.
"Not here. Let's go back to our room",said Payal and pulled Rashi with her ,as she walked back to their dorm room.
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